Tintin in Estonia
by Sallyann074
Summary: Skut tells Tintin about his lost love and Tintin swears he will help find her. The events take place following the Adventures of Flight 714 to Sydney.
1. Chapter 1

Tintin and Skut sat all the way aft in the last row of the Qantas 707. Haddock and Calculus had the three seats right in front of them. The plane was only about 60% full. It was nice having an empty seat between you and your fellow passenger. Haddock was sitting at the window, sipping his drink and staring out at the vast expanse of Australian desert beneath them. Calculus was snoring loudly in his aisle seat, exhausted from the series of lectures he had given at the astronautics conference.

None of the travelers could remember what had happened between the time they had been flying in Carreidas' jet, until the point where they had been rescued in the Timor Sea. Tintin, Haddock, Calculus and Skut were now on their way back to Europe together, after having spent a week in Sydney. Skut was going to London to apply for a job flying cargo around the British Isles, while the other three were headed back to Marlinspike.

"Tintin, do you have girlfriend?" Skut suddenly asked out of the blue.

The boy reporter blushed, "Er...um...no, I don't."

Skut could feel that the question had made Tintin uncomfortable, so he changed the subject. "It was nice Castafiore performance at Sydney opera house was it not? Architecture of that building is very impressive. Reminds me a little bit about TWA terminal in New York."

"Yes, I was very much impressed by the Sydeny Opera house too," Tintin politely replied, but he immediately countered Skut's question. "What about you Skut, do you have someone special in your life?"

"Oh, well...it has been many years," Skut replied. "You see, when I was younger there was someone, but I abandoned everything in my life. My family, my job, my friends. One day I take sailing skiff from sports club, just outside Tallinn. I know very big storm is coming and everybody else is indoors; nobody is watching. I take big risk of drowning, but I take this little skiff, and I sail it to Finland. When I arrive, I am severe hypothermia, very very wet, and very very cold, but I am free. So I escaped from Soviet Union. But my love, Madli, she is still there."

"Do you have any way of keeping in touch with her?" Tintin asked with heartfelt concern in his voice.

"It is possible, but very difficult with current communist system," Skut replied. "After I am in Finland, I am very scared communists will seek retribution for my defection. I find out later my father lose his job at fish cannery. He has very difficult time afterwards, all because I left. I blame myself. But now in Sydney, just by chance I meet old friend from Tallinn. He pilot for Aeroflot flying Soviet cosmonauts to conference. He tell me Madli marry other man, but he drink and beat her, and soon afterwards they divorce. He tell me she still loves me. She not blame me for leaving Estonia. She wants to be with me. I feel so selfish for leaving. I want to be with her, but is impossible for me to ever go back to Soviet Union. I am defector. And is impossible for Madli to leave."

"We're going to go there and rescue Madli," Tintin replied with utter seriousness.

"What? Are you mad? Is impossible for you to go there. Is definitely impossible for me also. I will spend my life focusing on work. I fly aeroplane, and I am content with that. Flying is also my love in life."

"But Skut, listen to me. You can have both. Look, when you asked me before if I had a girlfriend, it made me uneasy. I truly am the way you just described yourself. I love my work. Otherwise I cherish deep friendships, but I value my independence above all else. Getting involved romantically is not the thing for me. I know that you are different though. The way you talked about Madli. I want to help you get her back, and I know we can succeed."

The two were quiet for a while. Finally Skut spoke. "Do you really think we have a chance Tintin?"

"Yes," Tintin quietly replied.

 _Stay tuned for further chapters to see if Tintin will make good on his promise to rescue Madli_


	2. Chapter 2

Skut looked out the window and watched the sunset. The sky seemed to be on fire burning bright red. Their plane was waiting in line for takeoff on the next leg of the flight from Jakarta to Bombay. It had been excruciatingly hot out on the tarmac, where only a few seconds of the humid heat caused one's shirt to be soaked in sweat. Inside the plane it was pleasantly cool; in Tallinn it would likely be well below freezing right then.

Haddock and Calculus had argued again during the stopover in Jakarta, but neither Tintin nor Skut understood nor even cared why. The plane had taken on additional passengers, and Haddock and Calculus were squeezed into the middle and window seats next to a large lady from Liverpool, who hadn't stopped talking to them since they had boarded. She told them about her son, who was a banker in Jakarta. Calculus was enthralled by the lady, and responded to everything she said with completely irrelevant information. She didn't seem to mind and continued talking. Haddock stared out the window. Tintin and Skut still had three seats to themselves; so far they hadn't told Haddock or Calculus they had been talking about trying to sneak into Estonia.

The plane roared off into the night sky, and later, out over the Bay of Bengal, they were served a delicious nasi goreng for dinner. After Bombay the plane was scheduled to make a final stop in Rome, before flying to its final destination of London. Tintin was to take another plane to Brussels from Rome, while Skut's ticket was for London. After dinner, Tintin asked Skut whether he'd come to Marlinspike with him. Skut thought for a moment about his appointment in London. Being blind in one eye made it hard to get good flying jobs. He had been let go from Carreidas' employ after their recent ordeal. The cargo flying job he had lined up in Britain seemed to be a good one, but he thought about Madli and immediately agreed to stick with Tintin.

Tintin told Skut they would encapsulate themselves in an unused wing of Marlinspike hall for several weeks, where they would focus all their efforts on learning Russian. Skut spoke fluent Estonian and Russian quite well. Tintin spoke no Estonian, but had a basic grasp of Russian. They would hire a Russian language instructor to live with them, and otherwise avoid all contact with the outside world. By the end of their crash course, Tintin hoped they would be able to pass themselves off as Russians. Meanwhile, Tintin hoped that Haddock would help out, by getting a friend from Naval intelligence to provide them with fake documents, to help get them into the Soviet Union. It wasn't Tintin's first experience with the communist nation, and he looked forward to the challenge of going there again.


	3. Chapter 3

Walking down the gangway, midnight in Bombay felt surprisingly chilly. They were back in the northern hemisphere and it was wintertime, even here in the tropics. The airport terminal was a hive of activity; it mesmerized the tired travelers. Even some of the crusty bored travelers, who enjoyed more or less the exact same lifestyle in the Sydney or Melbourne suburbs, as they did in the leafy English suburban counterparts, were temporarily drawn into a different exotic world, in transit between the two poles of afternoon tea and sandwiches. Here in the middle, afternoon tea was also a ritual, but it had a different spice; and now at midnight, it all seemed strange and bizarre.

Although the food and drinks aboard the Qantas Kangaroo Route flight were good and plentiful, Tintin and his friends couldn't resist the allure of feeling they were travelers, rather than simply passengers in transit. They thoroughly enjoyed steaming trays of Pav Bhaji and lassis; and all had a great time conversing with passengers from different flights from all around the World.

Skut got his ticket changed to Brussels, connecting with Tintin and the others on Alitalia out of Rome. It was time to break the news to Haddock.

"Estonia!" Haddock shouted.

"Really? It's snowing? Here in Bombay?" Calculus walked over to the window of the terminal and stared out into the blackness of the night seeing nothing. He went over to the open doorway of a service entrance, and edged past a security guard to stick his head and his hand out into the night sky. He came back enraged. "Really! Snowing you say. It may feel a bit cold out there, perhaps 10 degrees, but certainly not snowing! Always the same! Old Calculus is the brunt of all your jokes!"

Haddock looked confused. He was focusing on what Tintin and Skut were trying to tell him, but suddenly Calculus was by his side fuming over some totally non-related matter. To diffuse the situation, he pointed at Tintin's dog, who was happily eating a vegetable samosa Tintin had bought for him.

"Oh! You said Snowy! Oh well I truly am sorry. I am a bit hard of hearing you know," Calculus said with an embarrassed smile, and bent down to pet the little dog, who was oblivious to everything else around him while ferociously digging into his samosa.

The boarding call for their flight came, and they got back on the 707; Haddock sitting with Tintin and Skut this time, leaving Calculus to dote over Mrs. Perkins from Liverpool, who now only wanted to sleep. As the plane departed Bombay and made its way out across the Arabian Sea towards the Middle East and the Mediterranean, Haddock agreed to enlist the help of his friends at Naval Intelligence. He was certain he could get them passports and other essential documents to enter the Soviet Union. He would also be able to arrange their transfer from a Western trawler to a Soviet one in the Baltic, so they could slip into a Soviet port and make their way to finding Madli. His only regret was that he wouldn't be able to join them. Their mission was dangerous enough as it was for just the two of them. Additional members to their party would only further jeopardize the endeavor.


	4. Chapter 4

Ludmila walked nervously down the country path leading away from the small village station. Learning foreign languages had been particularly hard for her. The confusing mixture of French and Flemish in Brussels made her head spin. She always seemed to chose the wrong language with the wrong person. People in Brussels often switched to English when she tried conversing with them, which didn't help her one little bit. Ludmila was Russian through and through, and she basically spoke only her mother tongue and nothing else.

She had come to Brussels as a refugee from the Soviet Union two years earlier with her father, an atomic physicist. He had since died from a mysterious illness. She clenched her fists and became sick with fear and anger at the thought that the KGB could have been responsible for his death. Words could not describe how much she missed him and the sadness she felt.

She worked in the kitchen of a large hospital, and she did not get along well with her co-workers. She had a few Russian friends in town, one of whom had shown her the advert in the paper about the job as a private language instructor. As she approached Marlinspike Hall, she shivered, partly from the cold, and partly from her fear of rejection.

Nestor showed her in and led her to an office. Tintin and Skut were sitting behind a desk with a large stack of books placed on top of it. The books were all in Russian by such well known authors as Nabokov, Dostoyevsky, Gogol and Pushkin. Ludmila smiled when she saw the books. She loved to read. Her dark eyes gazed intensely through her thick glasses at the titles. She took her time and seemed oblivious to Tintin's and Skut's presence.

Finally Skut spoke to her in Russian. "Please have a seat," he told her.

Ludmila sat and stared intently at Tintin and then at Skut. Tintin shuffled in his chair, as if he had become nervous upon making eye contact with Ludmila.

Skut got straight to the point. He spoke only in Russian. "My friend here and I will be going to Russia on business soon. We will travel to many places and meet many people when we are there. We want to be fluent as soon as possible. I can speak some Russian since I grew up in Estonia, but my friend speaks only very little. It is a daunting task to become fluent in such a short time. If you work for us, it is essential that we converse only in Russian. No other languages shall be allowed. To see whether you are really fluent in Russian, would you please tell us a little bit about yourself, and then afterwards select one of these books and read a page of your liking to us?"

Ludmila smiled. This was perfect she thought. She only wanted to speak Russian. The problem was that this job would last only a limited time until the two men left for Russia, but it was better than nothing. She smiled at the younger looking man. He seemed very shy but also very strong. Ludmila found him intriguing. He seemed to harbor some dark secret, but in a gentle and caring, not in a sinister way.

She told them about her father, how he had one day suddenly been accused of selling state secrets. He denied all the accusations, but faced a long sentence in the gulags and possible execution. Her father had been a patriot, not necessarily for the communist party, but definitely for Mother Russia. He had been a true Muscovite through and through. Before his trial, he managed to escape with Ludmila, squeezed with her into the tiny trunk of a Lada, to the far north, to the town of Nikel. They had to bribe several policemen along the way, who had stopped the car to look inside the trunk. Luckily Ludmila's father had hard currency, not from selling state secrets, but simply from generous friends and relatives, who lived in the West and managed to visit from time to time. Her father's friend Viktor, who had driven them all the way, had also payed up all his Western currency, to get them past numerous checkpoints to the Norwegian border. The three of them ran across the tundra, having abandoned the Lada on the side of the road.

Viktor had driven nonstop, not sleeping for over 60 hours; and Ludmila's legs ached so bad from having been squeezed in the trunk, she collapsed numerous times. But Viktor and her father dragged her until she was able to run with them. She lost her glasses in a muddy bog. At the border they were chased by a helicopter. Soldiers with dogs were after them. There was no darkness and there were no trees to hide under. All they could do was run. They ran until they could no longer breath and their legs gave out, but still they managed to run. They slipped often in the mud, but still they ran. At some point they noticed the helicopter had left, and they could no longer hear the barking dogs behind them. Somehow they had made it across the border to Norway.

Viktor and her father had both contracted the same illness around a year later and had both been dead within weeks. Ludmila had been spared, and she now lived alone in a small studio apartment on the edge of Brussels. With a sudden seriousness and hint of sadness in her voice, she said, "Anyway, that is my story. My friends call me Luda. If you please, you may call me so also. Now if you permit, I shall read you a poem from this volume of Pushkin."

Needless to say, Luda got the job.


	5. Chapter 5

Tintin was making great progress with his Russian lessons. Luda had made a tape together with him, where they went through everyday scenarios, like buying bread, taking a taxi, or talking about the weather. She had drawn little pictures, and written down the texts to go with the scenarios on the tape. Having learned the Cyrillic alphabet helped tremendously. It was a full immersion program. Tintin and Skut were supposed to think and dream only in Russian. Each night, Tintin listened to his tape and read Pushkin before going to sleep. Learning a new language without constantly translating it into one's own, cut out half the work. The idea was to learn the language like a child, from scratch.

Meanwhile the Captain had arranged for Tintin and Skut to 'disappear' in a few weeks time. For all practical purposes, they would vanish off the face of the Earth. They would be taken into a Belgian government building, where their appearance and identity would be completely changed.

Tintin grappled with his feelings for Luda. It was in his nature to focus entirely on the task at hand, to maintain a certain emotional detachment and stay focused when necessary. Right now, only Skut and Madli mattered. Luda was just a means to an end. But that wasn't how he felt about her.

Luda carried a certain sadness and vulnerability with her. She was all alone in the World. She was skinny and petite. She had short jet black hair and almond skin. Her large studious brown eyes had an intense, almost owl like quality to them. They were magnified by the thick glasses she wore, making her head appear larger than it really was on her small frame. Although she was small, she seemed to be very strong. Tintin could see her muscles flexing beneath her shirt when she carried large stacks of books from the shelf to the table.

Tintin was worried about Luda. She had been having difficulties adjusting to life in a strange land. One day she was suddenly torn from her life in Moscow, and now she had no one. He couldn't tell her about what he and Skut were planning. Even Nestor and Calculus didn't know exactly what was going on. He knew only one thing, he loved Luda, and he needed to figure out a way to be with her when he got back from the Soviet Union.

Tintin, Luda and Skut were completely cut off from the outside world. The only other person they saw was Nestor, but he never spoke to them, nor they to him. He would come to bring food and clean their rooms, but he didn't speak Russian. They had made strict rules not to utter one word of another language during their training. They listened to Russian radio broadcasts on Tintin's short-wave device. They played records of Russian whodunits read by a famous Russian radio presenter. They watched Russian films on a movie projector. Luda was in love. She loved being surrounded again by all things Russian. She missed so many things about her former life. She loved the sense of satisfaction she got from teaching Tintin and Skut, and watching how they made progress. Most of all though, she was in love with Tintin.

Luda couldn't sleep. She was lying in bed staring at the bright moonlight illuminating the trees and shrubs outside her bedroom window. She thought about having to go back to the drudgery of her life in Brussels, the quarrelsome ladies working in the hospital kitchen, and all the cold, aloof and indifferent faces on the tram everyday to and from work. She didn't even know if she would still be able to work at the hospital, or whether she would find work anywhere for that matter with the language barriers she faced. She laughed heartily, thinking of Tintin's attempts to learn Russian. He could sound so silly when he spoke it, always making her smile. Suddenly there was a gentle knock at the door.

Luda wondered who it could be. The rules they had established strictly stated that between 10 pm and 7 am, the three of them were to make no noise and to be alone in their rooms. It was a time meant for reading, reflecting and sleeping.

She put on her glasses and peeked out the doorway; she saw the smiling face of Tintin. She smiled back at him. He was wearing a coat over his pajamas and he gestured for her to do the same. She put on her thick coat and followed him out of the house and into the gardens. They walked quietly for some time in the moonlight. It was cold, their breath condensing into fog in the night air. Tintin turned to look at Luda and held out his hand to her. She took it. It felt warm and strong and made her feel confident.

They walked some more holding hands. Tintin suddenly looked at her with a look of concern. "Luda. I will have to leave for the Soviet Union soon, and I will be in great danger when I'm there. I can't tell you all the details about why I'm going there. I trust you though, and want to tell you everything. I have very strong feelings for you. I've had these feelings for you for quite some time, but I wasn't able to express them until now. For one, my departure is imminent, and I have to tell you these things before I go. For two, I was afraid you might reject me. For three, I couldn't speak Russian well enough to tell you these things up until now."

They both laughed, thinking of how he had so often mangled the language, saying things that had a completely different meaning from what he intended. But then Tintin's face turned serious again.

"Luda, I love you. I am in love with you. I have never had this feeling before in my life, because before this, I didn't know you. I have to risk everything now and tell you how I feel about you. You mean everything to me. I never want to lose you. The reason I'm going to the Soviet Union is because of Skut. The woman he loves is over there, trapped. I somehow knew how powerful love was, that's why I offered to help him, but knowing and feeling are two entirely different things. I feel it now, and this is the best thing I have ever felt in my life."

Luda hadn't said a word until now. She was smiling. Her dark eyes sent rays of warmth deep into Tintin's heart. She leaned over and kissed him. They held each other and kissed, losing all sense of time and outward sensation. After a while though, the bitter cold of the night got to them. Luda began to shiver. Tintin took off his coat and wrapped it around hers. They quickly walked back to the manor. Tintin brought Luda back to her room. For an awkward moment, they stood by the door, until Tintin finally whispered.

"I will come to you again tomorrow night, and we'll go outside again." They kissed hard and passionate once more. Tintin took a few steps back and waved to Luda. She stood by the doorway looking at him. Finally Tintin waved and smiled once more, and then quickly went back to his room. Luda stood by her doorway for a while after he had left.

The next day during their lessons, Skut could tell that something had changed. Tintin and Luda often looked at each other winking and smirking. They had difficulties focusing on the lessons, not noticing when they skipped over whole segments.

"Hey Tintin, if you want to take the day off, and you want to be alone with Luda, I'm totally cool with that," Skut said to Tintin, momentarily lapsing into French. Luda had just gone out for a bathroom break.

Tintin smiled and was about to answer in French, when he suddenly frowned, and with mock seriousness replied in Russian. "What did you say? I don't understand a word of what you're saying. You know I only speak Russian. We have work to do, and nothing will keep me from that. Let's be serious now and finish our lessons for the day."

Luda came back, and the three of them resumed their work. They did math problems in Russian, testing how well they grasped numbers.

That night Luda was ready, waiting for Tintin when he came to knock at her door. They went outside together. Tintin told Luda that in the coming days, he didn't know exactly when, government agents would arrive to pick him and Skut up. They would be taken to some location, he didn't know where, and they would be prepared for their entry into the Soviet Union. Tintin was certain they would have to perform some additional task to getting Madli out of there. Perhaps there was a scientist who needed help escaping. Perhaps they would obtain secret documents to bring back with them. The Belgian government was helpful and generous regarding their efforts to rescue Madli, but one thing was sure, they would ask for something else in return.

Luda told Tintin he didn't need to be so forthcoming with her. He didn't need to prove he trusted her. She loved him no matter what, but for all he knew, she could be a Soviet spy. Tintin assured her he knew she wasn't a spy. She responded with mock disappointment.

"Oh. So you think I don't have what it takes to be a spy? Well then I'm very hurt."

They both laughed, and kissed and held each other. Tintin asked Luda whether she would be alright while he was away. Would she be able to make ends meet? She assured him she would be fine. Her salary had been very good teaching him Russian, and her living expenses had been zero over these past few weeks. She now had quite a bit of money saved. She still had her studio apartment. Even if the hospital cafeteria didn't take her back, she would find a job while Tintin was away. She wasn't afraid of anything while Tintin was with her, and somehow, she felt no matter where Tintin was, they would always be together.

They walked back, and again they paused in front of Luda's room. They kissed. The kiss was long and intense. They felt they were melting into one another. Nothing could hold them back anymore. They fell into Luda's bed holding each other tightly, making passionate love many times that night.


	6. Chapter 6

Tintin and Skut sat in a small storage room aboard a Swedish freighter, making its way from Stockholm to Leningrad. None of the crew members, apart from the first officer had seen them board the ship. The first officer was in on their plan; he would see to it that they got to shore safely.

Tintin looked older. He had been given a skin treatment that produced age spots. Both Tintin and Skut were nearly bald, having had their heads shaved a few days before. Skut's eyepatch was gone, replaced with a glass eye. They carried the typical identity papers of Russian laborers. They were to sneak into Leningrad, the old city of Saint Petersburg unnoticed, and from there make their way by train to Tallinn. They carried only roubles. They could be searched anywhere at any time. Even their fingerprints were on file with the Soviet authorities. As far as anyone was concerned, they were genuine Soviet citizens, traveling to Tallinn for a construction job assignment, Skut a native Estonian, and Tintin a Russian.

In Tallinn, they were to meet an American spy, who held plans for a proposed secret submarine base on the island of Hiiumaa. The spy had been trying to get the plans safely out of the country for quite some time, but the KGB was onto him. He was hiding out in Tallinn, and Tintin and Skut had detailed information on how to contact him. They were supposed to figure out a way of getting the plans out of the country.

The sea voyage in the small storage room reminded Tintin of other times he had found himself in similar accommodations aboard ships. They had plenty of Scandinavian style crisp bread, salami and canisters of water. The door was locked from the outside, so they had nowhere to go. The trip was supposed to last about 48 hours. They kept time on their Russian made watches.

The time passed slowly. The only light came from a small porthole that couldn't be opened. They were told not to use the electric light, in order to minimize the possibility of detection by crew members. Although the crew was mainly Swedish, they didn't want anyone knowing they were aboard, as word could get out with the Soviet authorities after their arrival. The Swedes and the Soviets had a limited trade agreement, allowing for some maritime traffic between the two nations.

The ship docked in Leningrad, but there was no sign of the first officer. Tintin and Skut decided to wait. It got dark. Out in the passageway they heard Russian being spoken. There was a loud thud against a nearby wall. Tintin and Skut stiffened. Soon afterwards it got quiet. They waited all night.

The next morning the first officer rushed into the storage room. He told them to play along with him. He began shouting at them in Swedish and broken Russian. They followed him outside. He called them lazy. When they got out on deck, several crew members came round to see what was happening. The first officer pointed to the gangway, and told them to get the hell off his ship. The sailors all laughed. Tintin and Skut walked down onto the dock holding their heads low in shame, the first officer still shouting at them. Dockworkers came round to see what all the fuss was about. The first officer shouted in Russian, that these two good for nothing stevedores had been sleeping on the job. It was their fault the loading had taken so long. Everyone around them laughed. Tintin and Skut quickly made for an exit. Even a customs officer was laughing at them. He never even bothered to ask them for their identification as they left the docks for the street. They looked like any other dockworkers.

They found a tram stop and headed for the train station. Unfortunately the train for Tallinn had already left. The evening train wasn't running, so they would have to wait until the next morning. They decided to walk the streets of Leningrad. The city was beautiful. Skut had been there before and was somewhat familiar with its layout. He showed Tintin the sights.

Tintin got a chance to practice his Russian when Skut suggested he buy some sausages from a street vendor. Tintin's language skills were definitely still shaky, but when he pretended to be grouchy and taciturn, no one noticed. He scowled at the sausage vendor, the vendor scowled back at him, but he got four sausages for Skut and himself. He expected them to be horrible, but they weren't all that bad.

That night they had no trouble blending in with other laborers and travelers at the train station. Ferocious looking policemen patrolled the halls glowering at people, but other than that, they didn't seem to actually bother anyone. Early the next morning the two friends caught their train for Tallinn.

Madli missed Skut tremendously. When Eiki, the Aeroflot pilot returned from Australia, he came to see how she was doing. He came to visit her at her parents' apartment, where she had been staying since her divorce. He had brought her a little stuffed koala bear, and told her about his meeting with Skut. She wondered whether she would ever see Skut again. She felt terrible for having married another man. She knew that Skut had left the Soviet Union because of his eye.

Skut had lost his eye in a fishing accident when he was 14, the summer before he had first met Madli. Neither the military nor Aeroflot had any use for a one-eyed pilot. It hadn't exactly been easy for Skut to find flying jobs on the other side of the Iron Curtain either, but in certain countries, like Khemed, and for certain stingy employers who didn't pay well, like Carreidas, opportunities could be found. Skut was able to obtain a commercial license, but due to his eyesight, he wasn't allowed to fly airline transport operations.

It had always been Skut's dream to be a pilot, and Madli never blamed him for leaving. He had written her letters, saying he would one day come back and get her, but she knew that it wasn't possible for a defector to ever return.

Toomas had been kind to Madli at first, and said he wanted to start a family. But soon after their honeymoon, he had started to go out drinking with friends almost every night. She suspected he was cheating on her. When she questioned him, he became violent. The marriage had only lasted eight weeks. She was happy that the divorce had been quick and uncomplicated. Toomas had threatened her after the divorce, but had soon afterwards gotten into a fistfight with a policeman, and was now in prison.

Tintin and Skut arrived in Tallinn in the afternoon. Skut still remembered where Madli's parents lived. His heart beat faster now that he was back in his hometown. He missed Madli, but he suddenly realized how much he had also missed his home.

Tintin and Skut made their way to a long row of identical looking apartment buildings. They found the apartment they were looking for and rang the bell. Skut's heart pounded in his chest, and then, there she was, Madli stood before him in the doorway. Skut didn't know what to say. Madli didn't recognize him with his bald head and his glass eye.

"Madli, it's me Piotr," he said softly in Estonian. "You are more beautiful than I even remembered." He didn't know what else to say. She still stood there staring at him, seemingly not registering that it was him.

Suddenly Madli started to cry. "How did you get here? You must be in danger. Quick come inside." She bade Tintin and Skut into the apartment.

Tintin, Skut, Madli and her parents spent the entire evening talking. Madli began to cry again. She needed to be alone with Skut, but this was all too sudden. She felt pressured. She was afraid of leaving her parents behind. Life wasn't so terrible for her in the Soviet Union. She loved Skut, but wished he could stay with her in Tallinn, even though she knew that was impossible.

Madli's parents asked Skut how he proposed to get her to the West. Tintin suddenly felt a fool. Why had he been so forceful with Skut about wanting to rescue Madli, when he didn't even know the finer details of her situation? Why had he automatically assumed she would be willing to just drop everything, and leave her life behind to come with them?

He knew that Luda, given the choice at the time, would have much rather simply stayed in Moscow. Tintin's judgmental views about the Soviet Union could only extend so far. In the end it was just another place, where people lived their lives, together with their friends, their families and the people they loved.

It wasn't fair to Madli, to try and force her to make a quick decision about leaving. On top of that, Tintin himself had no idea how they were supposed to escape. Were they supposed to risk Madli's life, as well as their own in attempting to cross the Baltic in a storm in some sort of nutshell? Suddenly Tintin felt disaster closing in all around him. He envisioned himself and Skut being sent to the salt mines. He suddenly wanted to get away from Madli and her parents as quickly as possible. He was putting all of their lives in danger by being there with them.

Madli's family, like many families across the Soviet Union, had faced their share of hardship and turmoil in the past. Although their present dilemma was stressful, it wasn't so urgent that it couldn't wait until morning. Madli's father brought beer and pickled eggs from the kitchen. Suddenly Skut, Madli and her parents were laughing and reminiscing about old times.

Tintin and Skut slept in the living room. The next day, Tintin stayed in the apartment, while Skut went to visit his father. Before Tintin would even consider trying to track down the American spy, he wanted to settle matters with Madli first.


	7. Chapter 7

While Skut was out visiting his father, Tintin stayed in the apartment alone. He tried to rest as much as possible, not knowing what lay ahead. He thought about Luda and Snowy. He missed them both. He wondered how they were doing. This was the first time he had gone off on an adventure without his faithful companion.

Snowy had howled for three days and three nights after Tintin left. He only quieted down a bit when Nestor brought him an enormous bone from Mr. Cutts' butcher shop. The small dog wouldn't budge from where he sat, just outside the Marlinspike gate, staring down the country lane, waiting for Tintin to return.

Skut returned that evening in high spirits. He had already gone to see the American spy on his own, after seeing his father; he already had the secret documents stashed away in his coat pocket. Much better than that though, his father had shown him a way they could all escape together.

Early the next morning before dawn, Skut, Tintin, Madli and her parents, Skut's father and a friend of his, seven people in total, would be hidden on board a cargo plane bound for Warsaw. Once in the air, they would overpower the pilots and fly to a military base in West Germany. They would perform a maneuver similar to what Rastapopoulus' gangsters had done with Carreidas' jet in Indonesia. On approach into Warsaw, they would suddenly dive to just above ground level, and continue their flight barely skimming the treetops, well below radar coverage.

"Skut, it sounds like a pretty good plan, but come on!" Tintin cried. "Think of all the lives we'll be risking. We could get shot down. We could run out of fuel. Do you really know what you're doing?" Tintin, who normally wasn't the least bit risk-averse, was having his doubts.

"Listen Tintin, this plan is dangerous, yes. But also, the longer we stay here, the more danger we will be in. Madli and her parents are already at my father's place. They will not come back here. Tonight we go to airport together, and there friend of my father who works as mechanic, will get us inside hangar. Together we will hide safely in airplane going to Warsaw tomorrow."

Skut had thought the whole thing through. Tintin wasn't so sure. They would have to cross a large stretch of Poland, and completely get across East Germany. How could Skut know whether they had enough fuel? What if they encountered fog? They might have to climb, and would be detected by radar; plus if they ever got to West Germany, the political ramifications would be tremendous. The theft of a Soviet aircraft would make big news, and further deepen hostilities between the superpowers. The Soviets would demand the hijackers, namely Tintin and Skut, be returned to the Soviet Union to stand trial. Neither East nor West had a favorable view towards air-piracy. The Belgian taxpayer would be furious about having supported such a meaningless scheme.

"Tintin, is all true what you say. Is all concern to me as well. Military base in West Germany can certainly hide aircraft. Biggest concern is pilots we hijack. Is not fair to them. They deserve to go back to their families, but maybe can not go back without revealing to Soviets plane was hijacked by us."

Suddenly there was a loud pounding at the door. A voice shouted in Estonian. "Madli! Madli! Open up! I hear a man's voice in there! Who's that in there with you! Madli it's me Toomas. I love you Madli! Please don't leave me! I promise I won't hit you again!"

Whoever it was, was clearly drunk. They had to act fast. The whole neighborhood would be out and about to see what was going on. They quickly opened the door and pulled the drunken man inside. Tintin was lightning fast. His punch straight to the jaw had the man knocked out cold instantaneously. It was obviously Madli's ex-husband. Skut clenched his fists as if he wanted to hit the man again.

"Ok, Skut listen. We haven't a moment to lose. We have to tie this guy up, gag him and get out of here as fast as we can. We'll figure out what to do about the pilots later." Tintin spoke with extreme urgency in his voice.

Thirty minutes later they were at Skut's father's apartment. All the lights were turned off, and they sat quietly for some time. Large gatherings of people aroused suspicion in the Soviet Union. It was better the neighbors thought Skut's father was at home by himself sleeping.

Around two in the morning, the escapees made their way on foot in three separate groups to Juhan's house. Juhan was Skut's father's friend. He worked for Aeroflot servicing airplanes at Tallinn airport. Skut and his father had gone to visit him the previous day, and together they had forged the escape plan.

Juhan lived in a small house in a forested area about three kilometers away from Skut's father's apartment. In his garage he had parked his maintenance truck. It was large enough to conceal the other six escapees.

They drove to the airport in silence. At the service entrance gate, Juhan was waved through unceremoniously by the guards. He was on his way to work and didn't arouse suspicion. The first part of the plan had succeeded.

Parked in front of the hangar was an Antonov An-12 cargo plane, which had undergone servicing earlier that evening. Juhan knew it would be used on the morning flight to Warsaw. Loading would begin in a couple of hours. At the moment no one was about; it was essential to get on board quickly and hide.

Suddenly Skut darted across the tarmac. He came back a minute later holding two parachutes. "We will eject two pilots before descending in Warsaw," he said coolly. "I take parachute from training aircraft over there. Nobody see me. Come on, let's go inside."

In the aft most section of the plane was a small compartment, where almost no one ever went. It contained an emergency locator transmitter and some survival equipment. Juhan quickly removed these and hid them inside the hangar. Even without the equipment, the space was very small for seven people. They had to climb on top of each other, but somehow managed to squeeze in. There would perhaps be a performance change resulting from a more rearward center of gravity Skut thought, but he hoped it wouldn't be too much of a danger.

They remained as still and as quiet as possible. Anytime someone moved, it would send waves of pain into at least a couple of the others. Tintin thought about Luda hidden in the trunk of the Lada with her father. A while later the cargo loaders came to tow the aircraft to another part of the airfield. They heard lots of banging and shouting, but no one ever spotted them.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity in the cramped space, they heard the engines spooling up. They waited until the airplane had been in the air for a few minutes, and then it was time for Tintin and Skut to make their move.

Tintin grabbed a large flashlight that was fastened to the wall. He edged past the cargo containers and made his way into the cockpit. He knew just how to hit a person, to knock them out cold without inflicting permanent damage. At least that's what he hoped. He knocked the two pilots out. They had never seen or heard him coming. While he and Skut removed the pilots from their chairs, he thought about Toomas back at Madli's place, and hoped he was keeping quiet. The biggest danger for Toomas was, the way he was bound and gagged, that no one would ever find him and he might die of thirst. Although Tintin knew the guy was quite a scumbag, he hoped it didn't come to that.

Skut had to act fast once the pilots were removed from their seats. He had to quickly figure out such things as their assigned altitude, the route on their flight plan and assigned radio frequencies. It was crucial not to arouse any suspicion with air traffic control.

By the time the pilots were tied up, Skut had figured things out. He glanced back at the pilots to figure out from their looks, what their voices might sound like, so he could try to mimic at least one of them over the radio. Air traffic control never noticed anything, and the flight continued as planned towards Warsaw.

A little while later the pilots came round. Tintin explained to them in Russian, that they would be forced to jump by parachute. The younger co-pilot asked whether they were going to the West. He had relatives in the United States. He asked whether he could defect with them. The captain began shouting loudly, demanding they turn around at once, so he had to be gagged.

Tintin considered the co-pilot's request. He decided no unnecessary information should be revealed, so he turned the request down. "What makes you think we're going to the West?" Tintin shouted. "Keep your mouth shut and do as you're told!"

Tintin went back to the others, and told them to stay hidden behind a cargo container when he came by later to eject the pilots. The less the pilots knew about what was going on and who was on board the plane the better.

A while later the plane was about to cross into Polish airspace. They were cruising at 6,600 meters. At this altitude they would risk severe hypoxia if they depressurized the cabin to open the hatch. Skut told Tintin that timing would be crucial. Soon they would be given the order to descend. Once they got below 5,000 meters, Skut would open the hatch. Tintin was then to dump the two pilots. Skut told Tintin to at least get Madli's father to come out and help in case either one of the two caused trouble. The pilots might recognize Juhan from the airport, and Skut's father was not quite as strong. The pilots would have to be untied, so they could land without seriously injuring themselves. Skut told Tintin to get the pilots ready.

Tintin told Madli's father to come with him, and the others to stay well hidden behind one of the containers. The pilots were dragged in their ropes to the rear cargo hatch. Madli's father untied the captain, while Tintin held the flashlight menacingly. "Just follow our instructions," he said.

Unfortunately the captain of the plane was a true fighter. He didn't stand for any subversive behavior. He would do anything he could to overpower these hijackers and would rather be killed than let them have their way. He suddenly kicked Tintin in the stomache. Tintin fell over, but was up in an instant sending the flashlight crashing down on the man's skull.

Tintin got some water and managed to revive the plane's captain just as the hatch was being opened. He had tied the man's hands in front and tied his feet. "Get up!" he shouted. This time the airplane's captain couldn't resist. The parachute was fastened to his back, and with a kick he was sent flying. After that they booted the co-pilot out, hoping the two would land safely.

Tintin ran back to the cockpit and took his seat next to Skut. Skut got on the intercom and told everyone to hang on tight. He and Tintin strapped themselves in. He had already closed the cargo hatch. He switched off the transponder and all the aircraft lights. Changing course, he brought the engines to idle and sent the airplane into an emergency dive. They hurtled towards the ground at the maximum structural airspeed, and pulled up just in time to rattle the branches of a stork's nest on top of a building.

Surely people would call in that an airplane had narrowly missed crashing into a building Tintin and Skut thought, but there was nothing else they could do right now but head west. Skut had aeronautical charts depicting the airspace as far as Berlin, but from there he would have to rely on memory, pilotage and dead reckoning. His goal was the air base at Gütersloh in West Germany.

With the transponder turned off, they wouldn't be picked up on secondary radar if they temporarily entered a coverage area. For the most part, they would be able to fly low enough to avoid even primary radar. Skut tried to avoid flying too close to houses, and did his best to keep track of their approximate location and the optimal route to fly. He flew very low, almost touching the ground over some open fields. "Is ground effect Tintin," he said to his friend. "Is less drag and helps us conserve fuel."

They made their way across Poland and then on, south of Berlin, across East Germany. They constantly expected to see fighter jets, but so far there had been none. Grueling hours went by. They didn't kid themselves, their maneuvering had cost them a great deal of fuel and Skut had no idea whether they would make it. Suddenly he cried out, "Look Tintin, there is border!"

They saw the line of mine fields and fence in front of them. Skut was careful to not buzz a nearby guard tower, although surely someone must have noticed them. They could immediately tell they had crossed into the West. The streets, the buildings, the cars all looked more modern. Skut climbed the plane to a higher altitude, keeping a sharp eye out for traffic.

Although Skut didn't have aeronautical charts for the area, he was fairly certain, from memory, of the frequency of a non-directional beacon, that would help lead them into Gütersloh. He flew towards the beacon, cross checking with the heading on the magnetic compass. They had been lucky with the weather. It was cloudy, but the ceiling was high.

A little later, German Luftwaffe F-84's flew up along side them. Skut rocked his wings to indicate an emergency. He didn't turn on the transponder or get on the radio however. They still hoped none of this would leak to the press.

For the moment, they didn't seem to be in danger of being shot down. Skut held his heading and altitude. As they got near where he thought the air base might be, he started a slow descent, keeping his eye out for a runway. Suddenly an RAF BAC Lightning fighter came roaring past and rocked its wings indicating they should follow. The lightning slowed as much as it could, and flew directly ahead and below them, so as not to get them caught in its wake turbulence.

The lightning began descending steeply, and Skut brought the engines to idle, slowing the plane and descending. They penetrated some lower lying clouds, and when they came through the other side, they saw a runway dead ahead.

Skut landed the plane safely, and followed a military jeep with a gun pointed at them to a distant corner of the airfield. Skut had been spot on with his piloting skills. As they taxied out onto the ramp, the soldier in the jeep signaled for them to stop.

Skut set the parking brake and reached over to turn off the number one engine. It suddenly died before he got to the cutoff switch. A few seconds later, the remaining three engines began to die. "Ok, now we out of fuel," he said with a slight grin.

Tintin and Skut both burst out laughing. They got up and went to the hold to see if everyone was alright. Everyone was fine. Skut and Madli kissed and held each other for a moment, before Skut told everyone to keep calm. "Better everyone keep your hands up," he told them. He opened the cargo door, and they walked out into the cool afternoon air, with soldiers all around pointing guns at them.


	8. Chapter 8

Toomas was eventually found by the police, when they came to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the aircraft three days after the escape.

The two pilots were found more or less uninjured by Polish farmers, several kilometers apart from one another.

The Soviet Union launched an inquiry, demanding information from Nato member states. They had reports from various people, including East German border guards, about sightings of the aircraft, but they were all vague. West Germany, Britain and the United States denied any knowledge of the matter. The aircraft itself was dismantled and sawed into small pieces. No news of the actual escape ever leaked out to the press.

The submarine base plans turned out to be worthless. Haddock's friends at Naval Intelligence, who had organized the event, were all demoted and assigned menial desk jobs. They expressed their regret for what they had done, but otherwise took it lightly. 'C'est la vie' they said and continued to meet regularly with Haddock for drinks.

It is said that dogs know an earthquake is coming, seconds or even minutes before it hits. That may or may not be true. One thing is definitely true though, that a dog will know when his best friend is coming home before he actually arrives.

Tintin and Skut were finally released from a grueling debriefing session in England. Tintin took the next series of ferries and trains home. Five minutes before Tintin's train pulled into Marlinspike, Snowy began whimpering. As Tintin disembarked at the station, Snowy was standing on all four paws at full attention, his tiny tail wagging like a rattlesnake's rattle. Then finally, five minutes later, Snowy saw his best friend round the corner in the distance. The little dog darted out from the gate, down the path and flew into Tintin's open arms, giving him a heartfelt dose of face licking and whimpering.

Tintin and Snowy went that evening to see Luda at her place in Brussels. The three of them eventually went on many adventures together and made a great team.

Skut and the other escapees all ended up moving to Chile together, where he operated a seaplane in the southern fjords. Madli opened a small camping and clothing store, and the parents and their friend operated a fishing boat together.

Tintin and Skut stayed in touch. They both admitted they had gone a bit overboard with their wild rescue operation, but they never regretted it.

THE END


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